URI Bay Campus to Host JASON Project 2000: Going to Extremes

Dr. Kathy Sullivan, former NASA astronaut and NOAA chief scientist, to co-host the JASON XI live expedition with URI alumnus Dr. Bob Ballard.

Narragansett, RI. -- February 14, 2000 -- As the JASON Project goes to extremes this year in an adventure of ocean and space exploration, it is fitting that a former astronaut, Dr. Kathy Sullivan, will join oceanographer and URI Graduate School of Oceanography alumnus Dr. Robert Ballard to co-host JASON Project XI.

The 2000 JASON Project: Going to Extremes will be held from February 28 to March 10, excluding Sunday, and every student in Rhode Island will have the opportunity to view the expedition either live at the URI Bay Campus or over local cable channels.

The general public, scout troops and others are invited to view the live, interactive JASON broadcasts at the Coastal Institute Visitor Center Auditorium each Monday through Friday, February 28-March 3 and March 6-10, at 2:15 and 3:45 p.m. On Saturday, March 4, live broadcasts are at 9:45 and 11:15 a.m. and 12:45, 2:15, and 3:45 p.m. The 9:45, 11:15 and 12:45 shows during the week are reserved for school groups. Tickets are just $1 per person. preregistration is required and will be taken on a first-come, first-serve basis.

The live broadcasts will be carried on Cox Cable channel 3 on Monday through Friday of both weeks from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. This time frame covers a live broadcast from 1-2 p.m. daily and 10-minute live expedition science segments broadcast from 12:40-12:50 p.m. on March 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, and 10.

Viewers will have an opportunity to watch Student Argonaut Jeanetty Daddieh, a ninth-grade student at Cranston West High School, on site with Dr. Ballard at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston for week two of the JASON Project expedition from March 6-10.

JASON XI: Going to Extremes, led by JASON Project founder and URI Graduate School of Oceanography alumnus Dr. Robert Ballard, will compare NOAA's Aquarius Underwater Laboratory (Florida Keys) and NASA's International Space Station as research platforms that enable humans to go beyond their physical limitations to explore the unknown and ask the question "why?" The 2000 expedition will focus on the interaction of basic physical and life science systems as a framework to understand what is essential for life to exist and propagate. One of the systems that JASON scientists will study in depth is the coral reef, and the plants and animals that form this unique and diverse ecosystem. More information about the 2000 JASON Project can be found at www.jasonproject.org.

The Rhode Island JASON Project is coordinated by the URI Office of Marine Programs. Sponsors for the JASON Project in Rhode Island include Taco, Inc., EDS, Bell Atlantic, Cox Communications, the Providence Journal, the State of Rhode Island, and the University of Rhode Island.

For information or to sign up for a training session, register a class or group, or purchase individual tickets, call the URI Office of Marine Programs at 401-874-6211.

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Visit the URI Graduate School of Oceanography website: http://www.gso.uri.edu/

Contact: Sara Hickox, (401) 874-6211, Lisa Cugini, (401) 874-6642